Ultra Marathoners Suffer Severe Burns In Brushfire

Two runners are fighting for their lives after suffering severe burns at an ultra marathon in Western Australia. Photo: Terrain.org

The race was taking place in one of the most remote parts of Australia.

Two runners are fighting for their lives after suffering severe burns at an ultra marathon in Western Australia. Photo: Terrain.org

Four ultra runners are in the hospital, two in critical condition, due to severe burns they suffered competing in the Kimberly Ultramarathon in Western Australia. The runners had been trapped in a small gorge near the Kununurra.

The Kimberly Ultramarathon is a “RacingThePlanet 100” event that comprise numerous 100K races in rugged country throughout the world. It is staged in some of the most remote parts of the globe.

The Kimberly region of Australia is hailed as one of Australia’s top international and domestic tourist destinations, offering tourists stunning vistas of steep mountain ranges and sandstone and limestone gorges.

Last month, organizers said that the event would attract 100 competitors from over 30 countries. The event has since been cancelled.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service flew the two badly burned women to Darwin Hospital. One woman is 32 years old, while the other is 24. The other two victims, men, were flown to Perth.

Oskar Booth, a runner who was taking part of the race, witnessed the horror. “As we came out of checkpoint two, we came into a large amount of smoke but couldn’t see any flames,” he recalled.

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